Monotremata

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Mammalia \Mam*ma"li*a\, n. pl. [NL., from L. mammalis. See
     {Mammal}.] (Zool.)
     The highest class of Vertebrata. The young are nourished for
     a time by milk, or an analogous fluid, secreted by the
     mammary glands of the mother.
     [1913 Webster]


  
     Note: Mammalia are divided into three subclasses; 
           [1913 Webster] I. {Placentalia}. This subclass embraces
           all the higher orders, including man. In these the
           fetus is attached to the uterus by a placenta.
           [1913 Webster] II. {Marsupialia}. In these no placenta
           is formed, and the young, which are born at an early
           state of development, are carried for a time attached
           to the teats, and usually protected by a marsupial
           pouch. The opossum, kangaroo, wombat, and koala are
           examples.
           [1913 Webster] III. {Monotremata}. In this group, which
           includes the genera {Echidna} and {Ornithorhynchus},
           the female lays large eggs resembling those of a bird
           or lizard, and the young, which are hatched like those
           of birds, are nourished by a watery secretion from the
           imperfectly developed mammae.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Monotremata \Mon`o*trem"a*ta\, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos
     single + ? hole.] (Zool.)
     A subclass of Mammalia, having a cloaca in which the ducts of
     the urinary, genital, and alimentary systems terminate, as in
     birds. The female lays eggs like a bird. See {Duck mole},
     under {Duck}, and {Echidna}.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Monotremata
       n : coextensive with the subclass Prototheria [syn: {order
           Monotremata}]